Summary
TurtleMe defended TBATE anime production on Reddit.
Fans expressed mixed reactions, some disappointed in animation quality.
Petition for anime redo shows fan engagement & hope for improvement.
The Beginning After The End (TBATE) was supposed to be one of the biggest hits of this season. The anime adaptation was highly anticipated by fans, and some even claimed it would be some sort of “new Solo Leveling”.
However, many other fans were hesitant when it was announced that Studio A-Cat would handle the animation — not necessarily because they didn’t like the studio, but because A-Cat hadn’t worked on big projects before. After the debut of the series, many have complained about the quality of the animation on social media, especially regarding the lack of movement in action scenes. It got to the point where the author finally decided to speak out about it.
Related
The Beginning After The End Fan Petition Reaches Over 40,000 Signatures Demanding Anime Redo
A fan-made petition just passed the 40,000 signatures mark. What does this mean for the TBATE anime?
TBATE Creator Addresses the Production of the Anime
TurtleMe, the creator of the series, recently made a long post on Reddit addressing the production of the anime. His identity has been verified by the moderators of the r/tbatenovel community. While he didn’t reveal any inside information about the production or the conditions, he did share his experience with the series and the production, and he defended the production.
In his post, he mentioned that he was used to having control over everything related to the series, as he was the original writer and he reviewed the comic adaptation produced by Fuyuki23. Part of his post also suggests that many people from Tapas and Crunchyroll are also involved in the decisions about the adaptation, but he assured that everyone is doing their best.
The anime adaptation has been a huge learning experience collaborating in an industry with so many different people across Tapas, Studio A-Cat, and Crunchyroll, who all bring their own unique vision of what TBATE the anime could be. At the end of the day, there will always be creative differences in the room, but I really do believe that everyone is coming at it with their best effort and intentions.
He also added that the anime production has been a learning experience for him, and hinted that he doesn’t have much say in many decisions:
I learned in the anime industry, it’s very rare for the creator to have a say in deciding the ins and outs when it comes to the inception of an anime. This was a growing point for me since I was so used to having control over everything regarding The Beginning After the End. After all, for the novel I am the one writing it. For the comic, I oversee every single round. When TBATE was optioned for an anime, I realized there were millions of moving parts before production could even begin. Oftentimes the best products are an amalgamation of passion, hard work, and luck from a strong and dedicated team.
In a previous interview with Crunchyroll, he revealed that one thing that made him want Studio A-Cat to handle the series was that the director clearly knew a lot about the series and even about him when the studio made their offer to produce the series.
At that time, he also added that he could be more involved in the production — it could be that he was more involved than other creators usually are, but not as involved as he wanted or thought he could be.
Reaction to TurtleMe’s Post on Reddit
Many fans replied to the post. Some of them regretted that the anime is not getting the treatment it deserves, like this user:
It’s honestly just such a shame that an anime I’ve been excited about for years (as in, I’ve been hoping like crazy that we’d one day get an adaptation) turned out to be something I don’t even want to watch.
Another also shared a similar feeling about the anime:
Bro, I feel this deep. I used to hype TBATE to my friends like it was the next One Piece, swearing up and down that TurtleMe was on Oda’s level for me. I believed in this story with everything, years of passion, discussion, and anticipation . All crushed in one season. That animation didn’t just disappoint… it massacred everything I dreamed this adaptation would be. It hurts watching something you love get done so dirty.
Other users were skeptical about the part where the author mentioned that everyone is doing their best, mentioning that all available episodes were outsourced to other studios — A-Cat generally works with 3D animation, so they are probably outsourcing the 2D parts. However, they don’t seem to be angry with the author or anything of the sort:
“Coming at it with their best effort and intentions”. A cat outsourced both episode 1 and 2 to a Chinese studio. I have the upmost respect for you turtleme and we understand you can’t really speak your mind while you’ve signed with tapas, but there is no effort being put in. You’re asking us to cherish the anime but I just don’t see it being better, we know the staff working on it and know what they’re capable of just from looking at their track record. That being said i would love to be proven wrong and happy that you’ve acknowledged the voice of your fans.
Is There Still Hope For TBATE Fans?
TBATE fans have been very vocal about their concerns and complaints about the quality of the animation. There’s even a petition to remake the series from scratch, with over 75,000 signatures as of the time of writing.
While this petition is unlikely to turn into reality, regardless of how many people sign it, it shows how engaged the fans are with the series, and the companies involved in its production may realize that they can get much better results with the right investment. So it could help improve things in a potential second season, but it could also backfire and lead these companies to drop the show.
Where to Officially Watch TBATE
In most regions of the world, TBATE is streaming on Crunchyroll, with new episodes hitting the service every Wednesday. However, Netflix Asia is also releasing the series in select Asian territories (Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Hong Kong).
Source: Reddit
Crunchyroll is also adding an English dub for TBATE.Reddit
The Beginning After the End
Release Date
April 2, 2025
Network
AT-X
Natsumi Fujiwara
Arthur Leywin (voice)
Makoto Furukawa
Grey (voice)
